Psalm 119:150-151 NKJV
150
They draw near who follow after wickedness;
They are far from Your law.
151
You are near, O Lord,
And all Your commandments are truth.
Nearer Than the Threat
My Notes
Scripture: “They draw near who follow after wickedness; They are far from Your law. You are near, O Lord, And all Your commandments are truth.” —Psalm 119:150–151 (NKJV)
David’s words are raw and real. He doesn’t minimize the threat—he names it. “They draw near,” he says, describing enemies who pursue wickedness with relentless energy. Like hunters chasing prey, they leap over hedge and ditch to bring harm. Their hearts are far from God’s law, and their actions reflect it. Evil is not passive—it is persistent.
Yet David’s comfort is not found in distance from danger, but in proximity to God. “You are near, O Lord.” This is the turning point. The wicked may be close, but God is closer. The threat is real, but the presence of God is more real. David’s faith doesn’t ignore the peril—it reframes it.
This nearness is not vague or abstract. It is personal and protective. God is near to hear, near to help, near to save. He is not only stronger than the enemy—He is nearer than the enemy. And that nearness is our refuge.
David anchors his confidence in the truth of God’s Word. “All Your commandments are truth.” The promises of God are not fragile—they are pure. The enemies may rage, but they cannot undo what God has spoken. His Word is not only true—it is truth itself. And truth is the foundation of safety.
When we walk in obedience, we may face opposition. But we are not alone. God is near to those who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18). He is a present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). and His truth is our shield (Psalm 91:4).
Time to Reflect
-
What threats or pressures feel “near” to you right now?
-
How have you experienced the nearness of God in past seasons of trouble?
-
What does it mean to you that “all His commandments are truth”?
-
Are there promises in Scripture you cling to when enemies or fears draw near?
Prayer
Abba, when wickedness draws near, let me remember that You are nearer still. Let Your presence be my peace, and Your truth my shield. I do not ask for ease, but for assurance. I do not ask for escape, but for endurance. Remind me that Your Word cannot be broken, and Your promises cannot be undone. Let me rest in the truth that You are not far off, but close—ready to hear, ready to help, ready to save. Strengthen me to walk in Your ways, even when they are opposed. Let Your nearness be my courage. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Cross References for Further Study
God’s Nearness and Help
Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
Deuteronomy 4:7 For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
God’s Truth and Word
John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
Psalm 119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
God’s Protection and Presence
Psalm 91:14–15 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.”
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
Romans 8:35–39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Evil and Righteousness
Proverbs 11:19 As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
John 3:19–20 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Covenant and Faithfulness
Psalm 89:33–34 Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.
Proverb for Today
Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; Proverbs 24:3-5 NKJV
Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 119:150–151 reveals David’s distress as enemies pursuing evil draw near, intent on harm. Spurgeon describes their approach as relentless and malicious, likening it to a steeplechase of mischief. These persecutors are far from God’s law, having cast off its restraints to act wickedly. Yet David finds comfort in knowing that God is nearer than his enemies—ready to hear, protect, and uphold him. God’s commandments are truth, and His presence is the persecuted believer’s refuge. The contrast is stark: while the wicked close in, God’s nearness and truth provide strength, assurance, and safety for those who walk in His ways.
NOTE: Psalm 119 has 22 sections to which each section is represented by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Today, we’re looking at verse 150, which is in the 19th section, which is called “ק kuf” In the NKJV this letter is displayed as (Qoph ק). The websitehttps://hebrewtoday.com/alphabet/the-letter-kuf/ has this to say about the letter “ק (kuf) ”: On the one hand, worlds of spiritual heights, and on the other hand, the most physical, materialistic elements.
This section is dedicated to the memories of prayer. David recounts the time and manner of his devotions, and earnestly pleads with God for deliverance from his troubles. It speaks of the Lord’s presence even in the midst of adversity. If we have cried out to the Lord, we shall receive an answer. Delayed responses may lead to impatience, but we need not be apprehensive about the ultimate outcome, as God’s promises are unwavering and eternal.
Overview of the section (Psalm 119:145-152):
The time and manner of his devotions (Psa 119:145), The specific prayers he made (Psa 119:146), When he prayed (Psa 119:147), The duration of his prayers (Psa 119:148), The specific pleas he made (Psa 119:149), The events that transpired (Psa 119:150), The manner in which he was rescued (Psa 119:151), and His testimony regarding the entire matter (Psa 119:152)
……..Bill
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“They draw nigh that follow after mischief.” He could hear their footfalls close behind him. They are not following him for his benefit, but for his hurt, and therefore the sound of their approach is to be dreaded. They are not prosecuting a good object, but persecuting a good man. As if they had not enough mischief in their own hearts, they are hunting after more. He sees them going on a steeple chase over hedge and ditch in order to bring mischief to himself, and he points them out to God, and entreats the Lord to fix his eyes upon them, and deal with them to their confusion. They were already upon him, and he was almost in their grip, and therefore he cries the more earnestly.
“They are far from thy law.” A mischievous life cannot be an obedient one. Before these men could become persecutors of David, they were obliged to get away from the restraints of God’s law. They could not hate a saint and yet love the law. Those who keep God’s law neither do harm to themselves nor to others. Sin is the greatest mischief in the world. David mentions this to the Lord in prayer, feeling some kind of comfort in the fact that those who hated him hated God also, and found it needful to get away from God before they could be free to act their cruel part towards himself. When we know that our enemies are God’s enemies, and ours because they are his, we may well take comfort to ourselves.
“Thou art near, O Lord.” Near as the enemy might be, God was nearer: this is one of the choicest comforts of the persecuted child of God. The Lord is near to hear our cries, and to speedily afford us succor. He is near to chase away our enemies, and to give us rest and peace.
“And all thy commandments are truth.” God neither commands a lie, nor lies in his commands. Virtue is truth in action, and this is what God commands. Sin is falsehood in action, and this is what God forbids. If all God’s commands are truth, then the true man will be glad to keep near to them, and therein he will find the true God near him. This sentence will be the persecuted man’s protection from the false hearts that seek to do him mischief: God is near and God is true, therefore his people are safe. If at any time we fall into danger through keeping the commands of God, we need not suppose that we have acted unwisely: we may, on the contrary, be quite sure that we are in the right way; for God’s precepts are right and true. It is for this very reason that wicked men assail us: they hate the truth, and therefore hate those who do the truth. Their opposition may be our consolation, while God’s presence upon our side is our glory and delight.
______________________________________________________
Enduring Word
They draw near who follow after wickedness: The psalmist could sense that the wicked who opposed him were coming closer and becoming more of a threat to him. (Guzik)
They are far from Your law: Though they came closer to the psalmist, they were far from God’s word. (Guzik)
You are near, O LORD: Though the wicked were both near to the psalmist and far from God’s word, the psalmist knew that God was near. God had come near to the psalmist, and one way was through the word of God itself. (Guzik)
“Note the realism of the double statement, They draw near…but thou art near. The threat is not glossed over; it is put in perspective by a bigger fact.” (Kidner)
And all Your commandments are truth: Because God came near to the psalmist, he could see clearly that all God’s commandments are truth. He understood that God’s word was truly inspired and infallible. Guzik)
______________________________________________________
John Gill
They draw nigh that follow after mischief,…. Or “evil”; that which is sinful in itself, and injurious to others. Some cannot sleep unless they do mischief; they are bent upon it, and proceed from evil to evil: they are eager in their pursuit of it, as the huntsman after his sport, to which the allusion is; though it is to their ruin, even to their death, Proverbs 11:19; These the psalmist says “draw nigh”; not unto God, unless feignedly and with their mouths only; but to him they drew nigh, to David, in an hostile way they pursued after him, in order to take away his life, and they had very nearly overtaken him, and were just ready to seize him; his life drew nigh to those destroyers, and those destroyers drew nigh to that, so that he was in great danger; and the more as these were abandoned creatures, that neither feared God nor regarded man, as follows:
they are far from thy law; from the knowledge of it, of its equity and purity; and especially of its spirituality, and of its power and influence upon their minds; and so far from subjection and obedience to it; so far from it, that they treat it with the utmost contempt, cast it away from them and despise it, Romans 8:7.
Thou [art] near, O Lord,…. This was the comfort of the psalmist, that though his enemies drew nigh with a mischievous design upon him, yet his God was also near, and nearer than they; he was near as to relation to him, being his God and Father; near as to union, the bond of which is his everlasting love, which can never be dissolved; near as to communion, which he admits all his people to at one time or another; so that they are said to be “a people near unto the Lord”; Psalm 148:14; and near as to his gracious presence, and the divine assistance he affords; he is a present help in time of need; he is nigh to all that call on him in truth, and in all things in which they do call upon him for, Psalm 145:18;
and all thy commandments [are] truth; not only the precepts of the word of God, but his covenant, and the promises of it; the word which he has commanded to a thousand generations, Psalm 105:8; and even the whole word of God, doctrines and duties; see John 17:17.
______________________________________________________
Matthew Henry
Here is,
The apprehension David was in of danger from his enemies.
1. They were very malicious and industrious in prosecuting their malicious designs: They follow after mischief, any mischief they could do to David or his friends; they would let slip no opportunity nor let fall any pursuit that might be to his hurt.
2. They were very impious, and had no fear of God before their eyes: They are far from thy law, setting themselves as far as they can out of the reach of its convictions and commands. The persecutors of God’s people are such as make light of God himself; we may therefore be sure that God will take his people’s part against them.
3. They followed him closely, and he was just ready to fall into their hands: They draw nigh, nigher than they were; so that they got ground of him. They were at his heels, just upon his back. God sometimes suffers persecutors to prevail very far against his people, so that, as David said (1 Sa. 20:3), there is but a step between them and death. Perhaps this comes in here as a reason why David was so earnest in prayer, v. 149. God brings us into imminent perils, as he did Jacob, that, like him, we may wrestle for a blessing.
The assurance David had of protection with God: “They draw nigh to destroy me, but thou art near, O Lord! to save me, not only mightier than they and therefore able to help me against them, but nearer than they and therefore ready to help.” It is the happiness of the saints that, when trouble is near, God is near, and no trouble can separate between them and him. He is never far to seek, but he is within our call, and means are within his call, Deu. 4:7. All thy commandments are truth. The enemies thought to defeat the promises God had made to David, but he was sure it was out of their power; they were inviolably true, and would be infallibly performed.
______________________________________________________
Miscellaneous Comments
“They draw nigh.”…”Thou art near.” From the meditation of his enemies’ malice he returns again to the meditation of God’s mercy; and so it is expedient for us to do, lest the number and greatness and maliciousness of our enemies make us to faint when we look unto them. It is good that we should cast our eyes upward to the Lord; then shall we see that they are not so near to hurt us as the Lord our God is near to help us; and that there is no evil in them which we have cause to fear, but we shall find in our God a contrary good sufficient to preserve us. Otherwise we could not endure, if when Satan and his instruments come near to pursue us, the Lord were not near to protect us.
—William Cowper
______________________________________________________
- Exploring the Beauty of Psalms: Insights and Commentaries
- Monthly Breakdown of Our Blog Content
- Psalms Commentary: Faith and Inspiration
Leave a Reply